Case Study (119 KB PDF)

Website: www.greenheat.org.uk

Summary

GreenHeat is a support package for renewable energy in rural Wales and specifically for small and community scaled/owned schemes. Its overall technical and funding advice and information service and feasibility fund covers rural Wales. The capital fund is available to projects in Powys.

It was co-ordinated by Powys Energy Agency through two full time employees, support of the Executive Director; and working with Ecodyfi and the Centre for Alternative Technology. Powys Energy Agency became Mid-Wales Energy Agency in 2005 and closed in 2007.

The package is available to anyone interested in developing a RE project and in regard to any RE technology. Innovative wood based systems are particularly encouraged.

On going promotion of GreenHeat has been essential, it took 6 - 9 months for the concept of the support available to become widely known and appreciated. Since then there has been an increasing number of enquiries, request for consultancy and for capital support. It is clear that there are many projects that people would like to see to fruition in the domestic, public and community sectors. The availability of hand-holding support, advice and funding is required to do this. As the first of its kind, GreenHeat and Powys Energy Agency was able to work with some projects which had been just ideas for many years.

Results

To date the advice line has received 380 recorded enquiries, of which 280 were from householders, 52 from not-for-profit organisations (including schools and local authorities) and 46 from small-to-medium enterprises, including farms.

Of the 380, 243 were wood-related (125 to pellets), 55 solar water heating, 44 photovoltaic related enquiries, 39 hydro, 37 wind enquiries, 3 passive solar enquiries, 5 anaerobic digestion and 35 general renewable energy enquiries.

Overall GreenHeat funding resources have:

• Supported 38 feasibility studies. These range from a morning consultancy to involvement in £ 45,000 feasibility study;
• Enabled the completion of 17 renewable energy installations in Powys (more to come). This equates to the generation of 579 kW from innovative wood systems (for heating), 11.4 kW from heat-pumps, 76.30 kW from photovoltaics and 5.7 kW from wind making a total of 672 kW installed capacity;
• Worked with domestic, public, business and community sectors on various projects.

The benefits of GreenHeat include:

• Assisting the development of a wider wood energy services company or network and, through their employment as an ESCO providing opportunities for them to increase skills base and experience;
• Demonstration and trial of innovative schemes including community heating project, public sector renewables and innovative wood-heating systems;
• Providing an opportunity to assess the economic, technical and market feasibility of offering heat through wood-based community heating systems;
• Provide a focus for community activities;
• Help to empower individuals and communities to develop projects;
• Give an opportunity for individuals to have a measure of control over and profit from a project in their locality;
• The creation of sustainable local employment;
• Local and global environmental benefits offsetting CO₂ emissions;
• Greater security of supply and cost of heating fuel (compared to oil / gas);
• Benefits the local economy by keeping fuel money circulating locally;
• Sustainable exploitation of primary local resources such as wood and agricultural products.